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Nothing says summer like food from the barbecue. On days when it’s too hot to cook inside, it’s utter perfection to sit on the back porch with a beer and grill up some burgers. Richard makes some of the best burgers I’ve ever had and I’m not just saying that because I’m his wife. Most people that we know agree that he makes some really kick-ass lamb burgers.

The problem with Richard’s recipes is that they’re never the same twice, so it’s hard to write them down, but here’s a starting point:

Mix all the patty ingredients thoroughly, adding more of the spices if necessary. Divide mixture into balls and mold into patties. Cook on medium heat on the barbecue until the patty is cooked to your preferred degree of doneness. It shouldn’t be pink on the inside unless you’ve ground the meat yourself.

*I happen to hate fresh mint, so I never add this to my own burgers, but lamb and mint go hand in hand and everyone who likes mint likes it in these burgers. I’m just crazy.

Do you spy some local condiments behind my burger? Hint: The mustard and the barbecue sauce are both from Southern Ontario. Can you tell who they’re from?

And let’s not forget about dessert!

What’s this little guy? Why, it’s bannock of course! Anyone who’s been to Girl Guides or Boy Scouts has probably made bannock before. If you were like me you didn’t mix yours well enough and didn’t cook it long enough but you still thought that it was delicious because you cooked in the fire on a stick!

This is kind of a grown-up version of bannock, I guess. It’s stuffed with fresh raspberries because we had a ton of them, but you could stuff it with all sorts of things. Imagine bannock stuffed with apple and dulce de leche, or with grilled peaches and marscapone! I love to make this for company because it’s so easy to make and everybody always has fond memories of eating it at camp.

Measure flour, salt, and baking powder into a large bowl. Stir to mix. Pour olive oil and water over flour mixture, adding more oil and water if the mixture is too dry and more flour if the mixture is too wet. Stir with fork to make a ball. Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface, and knead gently about 10 times. Grab handfuls of dough and flatten them in your hands, then add a bit of whatever filling you like and pinch them closed. Place on a lightly oiled piece of tin foil over the grill and cook with the lid closed until outsides begin to brown.

There are still plenty of evenings of barbecues left this summer… What have you been grilling up?